"a voluntary tax on the communi- ty, extracting financial support for which the public receives no cor- responding benefit". Sommerlad, a dynamic managing editor of the Glen Innes Examiner since 1918, said the Glen Innes and Inverell mergers were designed: "to relieve the isolation of the towns in [each] big area by the publication of mod- ern journals, replete with the latest news of the world; and to coor- dinate the activities and interests of neighbouring districts by the promulgation of a broad-minded public opinion". The Sommerlad family (through E.C. and then sons David and Lloyd) was dominant in New Eng- land newspapers until 1980-81 when the Land Newspaper (the emerging Rural Press Ltd) bought Nornews Ltdfrom theSommerlads and other New England interests. Since October 11, 1996, the Ex- press has faced competition from the Armidale Independent. For 13 years Brad and Murray Evans, (printers) were producing a free weekly TV guide. Rural Press , own- ers of the Express, then launched its own TV guide and so the Evans brothers decided to take on the Express by launching a free weekly. Rural Press later launched its own weekly free, the New Englander, also on Wednesday. Now three Ar- midale papers appear on Wednes- days, as one of the three issues a week of the Express also appears on a Wednesday. The Independent (15,000copies)averages48 -56pag- es, double the size of itsWednesday competitors. GM, Brett Varcoe says the Independent's strength is its coverage of local news and sport. The Express's circulation has fallen heavily since the Independent launched. Sales were steady be- tween 1990 and 1995 before the Independent¹s arrival, dropping only slightly from 4,014 to 3,955. But sales of the Express fell 27.23 per cent (1995 - 2000), to 2,878; and another 14 per cent to 2,475 in the first half of 2005. The Express, when it turns 150 on April 5 will be looking over its shoulder at the In- dependent, which will celebrate its 10th birthday on October 11. Rod Kirkpatrick is Program Di- rector, Journalism, School of Jour- nalism & Communication, Univer- sity of Queensland. 39 NEwS READERS AND INTERESTS Sunset Publishing in california (uSA) are real experts targeting new readers and new interests. This August they launched a one-time special issue publication targeting consumers passing through their twenties. living 101 is designed for generation Y readers, which represent the biggest demographic in the united States since the Baby Boomers. living 101 will address issues such as living on one’s own for the frst time, fnding a job, and fnding a mate. Sunset Publishing say they hope the publication would speak to “that important period of adult life before homeownership (and) before parenthood.” 40 IF IT wORkS FOR THE wALL STREET JOuRNAL, IT wILL wORk FOR YOu The new section Personal Journal is one of the most successful tools of this traditional paper to attract young readers. Like its Weekend section. Both cover non conventional issues and topics, and the storytelling is different like the graphics and design. 41 MINI Learn from the new pocket-size magazine editions like Glamour or mini-papers like le Matin in Switzerland or Kronen Zeitung and Kleine Zeitung in Austria. 42 IMPROVE NIE PROgRAMS Don williamson, NAA Foundation, writes that “a just completed study concludes that structured, well-designed Newspaper In Education (NIE) programs create loyal newspaper readers. Period. The key, according to the study, is for newspapers to make the commitment to create effective programs that students will remember. The study was conducted for the Newspaper Association of America Foundation by Clark, Martire & Bartolomeo, Inc., an independent research group not connected to the newspaper industry. One of the most signifcant fndings is that 62 percent of young adults ages 18 to 34 who had newspapers distributed at school as part of the curriculum now read a weekday newspaper. Of those who say they had no exposure to newspapers in school, only 38 percent say they are regular newspaper readers. It is also surprising to discover that a majority of 18 to 34 year-olds began reading newspapers at age 13. That is approximately sixth grade and indicates that media usage decisions are being made much earlier than many media experts have projected. A focus on middle school appears to be critical for developing readers beyond the current generation.” armidale (cont’d from page55) 56 | PaNPa bUlletiN March 2006 coNteNt StrateGIeS for YounG reaDerS con’t page 60